Remember Surge Concerto: Ciel no Surge, that weird life sim for the Vita (that never made it out of Japan...)? Well, Gust is making a new game set in the same universe but this time around it's a full-blown RPG:

The description (song magic, protecting people in combat, going into people's heart, etc.) sounds very much like an Ar Tonelico game. Though another real entry in the Ar Tonelico series is unlikely to happen (it was a collaboration with Banpresto and there are legal issues there...), this is the next best thing.

All of your reactions deterred me from giving the third a run (I still have the LE unopened on my shelf), although I too loved the first. The second wasn't quite as charming to me, with a weaker cast. Jaqui (from 2) however, was the exception... she was bad ass :)

All of your reactions deterred me from giving the third a run (I still have the LE unopened on my shelf), although I too loved the first. The second wasn't quite as charming to me, with a weaker cast. Jaqui (from 2) however, was the exception... she was bad ass :)

Play it. I went in with really low expectations due to the hubris and ended up loving the game.It's far from perfect, but it's still a very solid game.

All of your reactions deterred me from giving the third a run (I still have the LE unopened on my shelf), although I too loved the first. The second wasn't quite as charming to me, with a weaker cast. Jaqui (from 2) however, was the exception... she was bad ass :)

Play it. I went in with really low expectations due to the hubris and ended up loving the game.It's far from perfect, but it's still a very solid game.

Well it's certainly playable, but "very solid" seems like it's pushing it to me. The characters lack any depth and the combat is a huge step back. It tries to be a more ARPG-esque battle system but what it boils down to in practice is just button mashing. Then there's all the completely unnecessary fanservice they shoved in the game. Yes, AT was always heavy in the innuendo, but having characters literally strip off their clothes in the middle of battle can't be called innuendo anymore. And since the revytails are so shallow to begin with this time around that's really the only thing you remember them for.

Still, it's not like the game is broken or something. I mean, Gust at there worst is still better than Compile Heart ;)

*glances at shelf* Nope. Mugen Souls (the US censored version) and the first Neptunia are two titles I'll gladly play repeatedly if it means I never have to see Ar Tonelico III or Atelier Annie again. The original Rorona could make this list of Gust strikes as well if I allow myself to throw in personal tastes rather than looking at the games objectively; but at least that's getting a proper rework.

Well it's certainly playable, but "very solid" seems like it's pushing it to me. The characters lack any depth and the combat is a huge step back. It tries to be a more ARPG-esque battle system but what it boils down to in practice is just button mashing. Then there's all the completely unnecessary fanservice they shoved in the game. Yes, AT was always heavy in the innuendo, but having characters literally strip off their clothes in the middle of battle can't be called innuendo anymore. And since the revytails are so shallow to begin with this time around that's really the only thing you remember them for.

While still not great, the difficulty and hard option are much better than the difficulty of the first 2 games which end up as complete snore fest (even if you keep your starter equipment, I did that on both and it was still piss easy).The 3d models are pretty well done considering the shift from 2d to 3d and ended up the best 3d in a Gust game to date (back then).The music was still divine and the way you could equip 'song parts' in combat was a pretty neat addition (how come nobody ever mentions this one?).The little unclothing animation was COMPLETELY avoidable in combat; it ONLY happens if you shake the controller when the graph is on a peak. Seeing there are way more 'not peaks' than 'peaks', if this thing offends you, it is trivially easy to skip (it is shown a handful of times in the story though, no skipping those). You don't get any special bonus for doing it on a peak either, so no loss at all.The METHOD_HYMMELI cutscene just before the last dungeon is damn awesome.

I won't defend against your other points though as you are completely right. I'm just saying this game as some good points too.I still think the biggest difference is you all went in expecting something better than 2 while me and CluelessWonder went in expecting Superman 64.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree, ZeronHitaro. I fell the complete opposite. I would still rather play any of the Gust games you mentioned than any of the Compile Heart games you mentioned.

The little unclothing animation was COMPLETELY avoidable in combat; it ONLY happens if you shake the controller when the graph is on a peak. Seeing there are way more 'not peaks' than 'peaks', if this thing offends you, it is trivially easy to skip (it is shown a handful of times in the story though, no skipping those). You don't get any special bonus for doing it on a peak either, so no loss at all.

I'm going to have to contest this point. You most certainly do get bonuses for doing it. That's how the whole song magic evolution mechanic worked this time around, and I believe it was also a prerequisite for unlocking super moves. Sure, the game is probably easy enough that you could make it through it without using that, but it's only "optional" in the sense that you could choose to play any game without ever using your best moves. You're making it sound like it's just cosmetic, which isn't true.

(That said, I'm not "offended" by the mechanic so much as I think it's really, really stupid. I have a pretty high tolerance for fanservice, but this mechanic just felt so unnecessary...)